


Love; Not Wrong

by bisexualbauman



Category: Wynonna Earp (TV)
Genre: F/F, Fluff and Angst, Mostly Fluff, Road Trips
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-02
Updated: 2019-02-22
Packaged: 2019-08-16 17:55:59
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 13,683
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16500035
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bisexualbauman/pseuds/bisexualbauman
Summary: When Waverly used to pack her bags as a child, threatning to run away from the homestead, she always thought of a better time, a time where she was older, and would know what to do, know where to go. But after finding herself at the age where she should supposedly know where she was going, she was just as unaware as she had been all those years before. She didn't know where she was going, and she sure as hell didn't know what was going to happen, but she did know that she was getting out of Purgatory, and that Nicole Haught was coming with her.love; not wrong- the playlist : https://open.spotify.com/user/z04lrz4m8dh86z42wwwlknfcu/playlist/6tdNEFGXxdLOgFf8bpEg73?si=FaxJ9T-MRSmlTk9POhKh4Q





	1. Roman Holiday

It was late december, and Waverly’s heart was in her chest, the clouds of her breath hit cold against her face as she ran across the homestead not knowing where she was running to- but she wouldn’t turn back.   
She kept running, past the fence that separated the homestead from the surrounding land, through the seemingly endless fields that were smothered in a layer of thick, white snow, and onwards. Her bags felt heavy on her back, the ones hanging off of her shoulder bashing her legs every time she moved, but she didn’t care. All Waverly cared about in that moment was running. Until she reached the front fence of a certain redheads house. She waisted no time in getting to the front porch, bags dropping off her shoulders as she halted to a stop, and she knocked frantically on the door infront of her.   
Nicole opened up the door, revealing a pile of bags at the foot of her stairs, almost as if she had been expecting Waverly.

‘Lets go’ Waverly said through shaky breaths, still recovering from the run.

A smirk filled Nicoles face and she leaned down to pick up the bags in a pile on the floor, putting them on her shoulders.

‘I thought you’d never ask.’

 

Nicole and Waverly had always hated living in purgatory. Even before the years of homophobic, sexist bullshit they had to endure from almost all of the straight men in purgatory, which was basically the whole town, it had just never been a nice place to live in. Waverly and Nicole had both been dubbed as the ‘troubled kids’ of purgatory, which made everything just that little bit harder for them. With Nicole being the sole survivour of a massacre, and Waverlys dad and eldest sister being killed as well as her mum leaving, the two girls got their fair share of weird looks, quiet whispers and patronising sympathy from adults. The two of them had often assumed that was why they got on so well, because the whole of purgatory treated them as if they were just a talk of the town, as if they were just the token troubled kids. 

Waverly was the only one who treated Nicole as if she was an actual person, the only one who, throughout everything, just saw Nicole as Nicole. As everyone in Nicoles life left her, whether it for being a cop or for being a lesbian, Waverly was still there, because she knew Nicole was still just the same Nicole she had always been, and Nicole treated Waverly in just the same way. They had always joked about packing their bags and leaving purgatory, knowing deep down that nothing was actually keeping them both there, but it was always looked at as a fantasy. 

 

When Nicole learnt how to drive the shiny red truck that she got for her 16th birthday, her and Waverly drove to the purgatory border one night to get a taste of the life they’d always dreamed of.

‘You know we could leave now, right?’ Nicole said, staring into the night sky ahead of them after they’d parked on the side of the road. ‘We could get back in the car and just… keep driving. And not look back’ 

Waverly looked at the readhead before slumping back into her seat with a sigh.

‘We could’

‘Your tone doesn’t make you sound too convinced, Earp’ Nicole said, now turning her whole body to face the girl.

‘It’s just’ Waverly began, also angling her body towards Nicole so they were facing. ‘Wynonna has just got out of juvie, I can’t just pack up and leave as soon as she walks back through the door. And we’re sixteen, Nicole, we don’t have jobs. You know how much I want to leave this town, but I want to be able to leave for good. I cant just go out on a whim when I’m unprepared, just for the sake of leaving’

Nicole let out a defeated sigh, knowing deep down that Waverly was right, but refusing to admit it.

‘Okay, maybe you’ve got a point.’ 

She turned her car keys in the ignition, and turned around, driving away from the line that separated her from her future. The rest of the journey was silent.

 

Now Waverly and Nicole were eighteen, life in purgatory had somehow gotten even worse for them. Nicole worked for Nedley in the station, doing as many odd jobs as she could to get money, and Waverly worked behind the bar in Shortys. Since that night by the border, Wynonna had left purgatory, Waverly didn’t know if it was to go back to juvie or to leave the hell-hole of a town they called home, all she knew was the one reason she had left to stay in purgatory was gone. The adults of purgatory were quick to drop the sympathetic act and went straight into treating Nicole and Waverly like what they had only ever seen them as- two broken girls. Two lost causes.  
Life didn’t get much easier at school, and every day they had to put up with the never ending side-eyes, whispers and comments, most of them being homophobic. There was no reason that they couldn’t leave purgatory, but it seemed that now they could leave, they were choosing to stay. But Waverly wasn’t having that anymore.

After an exhausting day of ridicule, even more so than usual, Waverly was hoping for a calm shift at shortys. Obviously, that was the opposite of what she got, and halfway through her shift, whilst a regular was shouting at her for a reason that she didn’t even care about anymore, Waverly walked out from behind the bar, and left. She was sick of living in a town that didn't acknowledge her as a person, a town that gave her nothing but grief for just existing. Enough was enough, and before Gus could run after her and give her a lecture on her behaviour, Waverly ran. She ran, and she ran until she reached the homestead, where she ran upstairs and packed as many of her things into bags, and then she walked back through the front door, and she started running again.

 

And that is what brought Waverly to this moment. What brought her to Nicole filling the boot of her, now dull, red truck with bags upon bags of their stuff. To them getting in the car and driving with no particular direction.  
They had no idea where they were going or what exactly they were looking for, but for now they were fine with looking for sunlight, or the headlights, even if it was just till their wide eyes burned blind.


	2. Everywhere

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Waverly and Nicole find themselves in a small town, kicking off the start of their roadtrip.

Waverly and Nicole had been driving for what felt like hours. Neither of them had spoken much- the realisation of what they had just done- what they had finally done- weighing down on them too much to be able to speak. Waverly had never heard a silence quite this loud.  
They had always wanted to do this, and it’s not like it was a decision either of them regretted (at least, not yet) but something about the seriousness of the situation created a tension that neither of the girls had ever felt before. The thought of running away from purgatory, running away from all the pain, all the loss, all the torment, had always seemed like an unreachable dream- a fantasy, but now they were here. In Nicoles truck, driving with no real direction, the life they had always lived now miles behind them. 

The sound of the song that quietly filled the car reminded Waverly of why she was doing what she was doing. Why they were doing what they were doing.

_‘Can you hear me calling out your name? You know that I'm falling and I don't know what to say.’_

Waverly leaned forward, turning the radio up ever so slightly, making the song loud enough for it to be heard, but not any louder. She looked across at Nicole, watching the redhead tap her thumbs lightly against the steering wheel along with the song. Nicole caught a glimpse of Waverly looking at her and smiled across at the girl, taking one hand off of the wheel and wrapping it in Waverlys.

‘Hey.’ She said softly. ‘We’re gonna be okay.’

 

_‘Oh I, I want to be with you everywhere’_

 

In that moment, Waverly was filled with a sudden ease. She knew that whatever happened, wherever she would go, it was the right choice. She knew that she couldn’t stay in purgatory any longer, and neither could Nicole. She knew that she could go anywhere so long as Nicole was right there with her, and she knew that Nicole would always be with her- everywhere. 

 

As the day drew to an end and the sky fell dark, Nicole took the next exit into the nearest town so they could get some rest. 

‘Hey, Waves’ Nicole whispered to Waverly who had fallen asleep, brushing her hair out of her face. 

Waverly slowly opened her eyes to see that Nicole had found a small motel in what seemed like a small town. Wearily, Waverly got herself out of the passenger seat and walked towards the boot of the car to grab her bags.

‘Waves you’re tired, I’ll get the bags’ Nicole said softly, wrapping a coat around Waverlys shoulders ‘I booked a room whilst you were asleep, you go get settled, I’ll be right behind you’ 

‘Thanks, Nicole’ Waverly replied before walking into the reception of the motel.

Waverly walked into the room and saw that there was only one bed in the room.

Nicole walked into the room and dumped their bags onto the nearest clear space of floor, making a loud thump.

‘Oh yeah, sorry about that’ Nicole said after seeing Waverly staring at the singular bed in the middle of the room, ‘It was all they had’. 

‘Oh, no, it’s fine’ Waverly responded, snapping herself out of the stare she was holding. 

After that, the two girls didn’t exchange any more conversation, a wave of tiredness hitting them both after the physically and mentally exhausting day they had had. Waverly got into bed before Nicole, making sure to leave lots of space for her, suddenly becoming over conscious about how close they were. Nicole, however, didn’t seem at all bothered, as when she joined Waverly, she was so close that she could almost feel the redhead as her heart thumped in her chest. 

‘Goodnight, Nicole’ Waverly whispered softly, releasing the tension from her body and relaxing into the bed. 

‘Goodnight, Waves’ 

 

Waverly woke up to see that the spot next to her was empty, soon realising that water was running and Nicole was in the shower. When she heard the shower stop, she sat up in bed and rushed to make sure she looked okay, unsure as to why she was suddenly worried about what she looked like in-front of Nicole. 

‘Morning’ Nicole said with a chirp in her voice as she walked out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around her. ‘The bathroom is all yours if you want to get ready. I was thinking we could go out for breakfast before we explore this place a bit, if you want’ 

‘Breakfast and adventuring sounds great’ Waverly replied before getting up to get ready for the day ahead.

It didn’t take long for the girls to be back on the road. They had checked out of the motel and loaded the car back up with their bags and had set out in search for somewhere to eat. After about ten or so minutes of driving through quiet roads, they stumbled across a small cafe that was tucked away in an alley. Nicole parked up and leaned into the bags in the boot and rummaged around for her purse before locking the car door and taking Waverly’s arm in hers and walking towards the cafe.

‘The world is ours Earp, and we’re gonna take it- but first, breakfast’ She proclaimed, unhooking their arms and facing to stand in-front of her as they reached the doors.

Waverly laughed at Nicoles over the top declaration and made her way through the door that Nicole was now holding open for her.

They both ordered large breakfasts, seeing as they were unsure how many opportunities they would get through the day to eat. Waverly ordered a stack of blueberry pancakes and a bowl of granola and berries, and Nicole ordered a sausage, bacon and egg muffin and banana waffles, the both of them drinking tea and juice alongside their meals. 

‘So’ Nicole said in between mouthfuls ‘where do you wanna go today, Earp?’

Waverly took a sip of her tea that was still too hot before responding. 

‘Why don’t we just explore round this town? I mean, it’s not like we’re in a rush to get back anywhere’ 

Nicole let out a small laugh.

‘Yeah, I don’t know about you but I’m not exactly desperate to get back to Purgatory any time soon- or ever, so we’ve got all the time in the world.’ She stood up and hovered by the table before walking to the bar to pay for their food.

‘Exploring this town it is.’

 

‘Nicole, let me give you money!’ Waverly practically screeched at the redhead as she ran away, guarding her wallet with her whole body. This didn’t stop Waverly from practically climbing Nicole like a tree, trying to peel her arms away from her body enough to shove three $10 bills into the wallet to cover the cost of her breakfast.

‘Waves, I’m not taking your money’ Nicole said in-between a fit of laughter caused by seeing how much the much smaller girl was struggling.  
Waverly gave in after realising she had no chance, letting out a defeated sigh, shooting a pout Nicoles way as one last attempt at winning the argument.

‘Nope’ Nicole said, pointing at Waverly as she continued walking down the path.

‘Fine’ Waverly muttered, following Nicole and shoving the money back into her pocket  
‘But I’m paying next time’

‘Sure thing, Earp’ Nicole replied with a smile, holding her hand out for Waverly to take as they continued walking through unfamiliar streets.

 

_‘Oh come along baby, better make a start, better make It soon before you break my heart’_

As Waverly felt Nicoles fingers intertwine with hers, she felt a feeling in her stomach almost as unfamiliar as the streets they were walking through. As much as she tried to push the feeling down, it remained, lingering in her and increasing whenever Nicole did something even as mundane as smile at her, and Waverly knew that if she wasn’t careful, Nicole was going to have a hold of more than just her hand.

For the rest of that day they wandered aimlessly through the town they had landed themselves in, spending more time getting lost than actually getting anywhere- but having a good time regardless. Neither of them could remember a time where they felt as free as they did in that moment. It was as if nothing could touch them, as if the world really was theirs, and the eighteen years of hell prior to this moment were worries of the past, no longer being strong enough to dampen the mood they were in.

They had made a decision early on in the day that whatever shops they ended up around, they would go in so they could gather a ‘taste of the town’. This mostly resulted in the girls picking out clothes for the other one to try on and giving each other a catwalk through the aisles of the stores. The air around them was thick with a sense of joy neither of them had felt before. It was almost as if Purgatory was covered in a blanket of misery that suffocated everyone to the point of no longer knowing what real happiness was, and now they'd finally escaped it.

When the sun began to fall into the sky, making everything around them a dusky pink, Waverly spotted a food truck towards the end of the highstreet they had found themselves on. They both grabbed a bite to eat, this time on Waverly, and after realising they weren’t too far from where Nicoles truck was parked up, they walked back to it in comfortable silence as they ate. 

When they reached the car park, they both sat on the hood of Nicoles truck, leaning against the windsheild and staring out across the cobbled streets that were now glowing orange from the sun setting above them. 

‘It’s crazy to think that life could of always felt like this, you know’ Nicole started, staring at the sunset and suddenly being reminded of that night two years ago at the Purgatory border.

‘I know’ Waverly agreed, shifting across and leaning her head onto Nicoles shoulder, the business of the day suddenly hitting her with a wave of exhaustion. 

‘Two years ago, when I suggested we just leave. Do you think it would’ve ended up the way it has now?’ Nicole asked, now turning her head to look at Waverly.

‘Honestly?’ Waverly started. ‘No. I think we would’ve messed everything up after like a week, tops’

Nicole let out an offended laugh.

‘A week? That’s it?’

‘Yep’ Waverly responded, deadpan.

‘I mean, for all we know, we could still mess everything up after a week. We could be back in Purgatory before the new year has even had time to get started.’ Nicole continued, her tone suddenly hinting at serious at the thought of going back to Purgatory.

‘Nah’ Waverly reassured, taking Nicoles hand in hers once more and smiling at the redhead  
‘We’re older now, Nicole. We’ve got this. Purgatory is never gonna see us again.’ 

Nicole smiled to herself before dragging Waverly off of the truck as she stood up.

‘Lets get you to bed, you’re exhausted, Waves’

They drove back to the motel from the night before and got another double room, repeating the tales of last night, except this time the space between the two girls had shrunk, and they were practically touching.

‘Goodnight, Nicole’ Waverly whispered, already half asleep.

‘Goodnight, Waves’ Nicole whispered back, brushing hair out of Waverlys face before falling asleep, her hand still lingering next to Waverly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys :) I hope this fic is okay so far and that you're liking it <3


	3. Someone To Stay

They both slept way past breakfast, Waverly being the first to wake up at about 10:30. She layed still in bed, looking at Nicole as she slept, the curls of her short red hair covering a lot of her face, much to Waverlys annoyance. Waverly stayed there in that moment for as long as she could, taking Nicoles hand that was by her face into her own hand and stroking her thumb across Nicoles fingers.   
It wasn’t long until Nicole woke up, Waverly being the first thing she saw when she opened her eyes.

‘Were you watching me as I slept?’ Nicole said, her voice groggy from where she had just woken up. ‘Creep’ She laughed, grabbing the pillow from beneath her head and hitting Waverly in the face with it. 

‘Hey!’ Waverly exclaimed at the sudden bash. ‘I am not a creep’ and before Nicole could react, she took the pillow from her side of the bed and threw it at Nicole, hitting her on the head.

‘Ameteur move starting a pillow fight with me, Haught. Did you never learn from all those times I’ve beat you?’

Nicole laughed at Waverly’s snide comment, now jumping out of bed and grabbing a pillow, guarding herself with it aswell as preparing herself to throw it when necessary. Waverly had also left the comfort of her bed, following Nicole in grabbing a pillow. The two girls began throwing every pillow they could reach at each other, dodging each one thrown as well as they could. Inbetween a fit of laughter, Nicole tackled Waverly onto the bed, making her land on top of her and cause an even larger outburst of laughter from the both of them.

‘Reigning champion no longer, huh?’ Nicole bragged, still sat on top of Waverly. 

‘Oh please’ Waverly responded, pushing Nicole off of her,  
‘I so let you win that.’ 

Nicole shot Waverly a smirk and started walking away from her and into the bathroom,  
‘Sure you did, Earp’.

They followed the same routine from the previous day, Nicole showering and then finishing getting ready whilst Waverly showered. Instead of going out for breakfast that morning, they grabbed a small bite to eat from the breakfast service in the motel, deciding that they were going to find somewhere nice for lunch. 

‘After you’ Nicole said to Waverly as they left the motel, walking back to Nicoles truck. As Nicole started the vehicle up, Waverly was plugging her phone into the aux cord, shuffle playing the shared playlist her and Nicole had had for years. The sun was shining heavily in the clear blue sky and the girls were in bright spirits, brighter than they think they had ever been. Waverly leaned over and turned the radio up when one of her and Nicoles favourites came on, and the two girls sat with the wind blowing through their hair, smiles as bright as the sun spread across their faces, singing along as if they had never sung before.   
_‘Sometimes I get my head in a dilly, feeling so lost ticking you off  
Now boy you know me well, said I'm that kind of feeling, that kind of soft, that kind of silly  
But when I'm in doubt, I open my mouth  
And words come out, words come out like’ _

Waverly took her left hand and took a hold of Nicoles spare hand, intertwining their fingers and leaning out of the car window with her right arm and head as they sung along.

 _‘Baby, there's a shark in the water, there’s something underneath my bed,  
Oh please believe I said,  
Baby, there's a shark in the water, I caught them barking at the moon,  
Better be soon’ _

 

Neither Nicole nor Waverly knew how long they had been driving before they reached what look like a collection of restauraunts. Nicole turned the radio down to the volume it was before the journey started after pulling into one of the empty parking spaces. By the looks of the almost full car park, this part of town was busier than the area they had ended up in yesterday, but it was still fairly quiet. They chose the liveliest looking restauraunt of all the options, thinking it would be nice to spend some time around people other than eachother. 

They were seated almost immediatley after walking through the door, and much to Waverlys confusion, Nicole seemed to know someone there. She followed Nicoles line of sight to see the girl at the bar, who seemed to be working here, smiling at Nicole in shock. 

‘If it isn’t Nicole Haught’ The girl said as she walked over to their table. 

‘Shae! What are the chances?!’ Nicole responded, delight in her voice. 

‘Guess it’s fate pulling us together again’ Shae joked, winking at Nicole and giving her a nudge on the shoulder with her elbow. She suddenly turned her attention to Waverly and reached out her arm. 

‘I’m Shae, nice to meet you’

Waverly stetched out her arm across the table to shake the girls hand.

‘Waverly, nice to meet you.’

Shae dissapeared with a smile after taking the girls drink orders, placing her hand on Nicoles shoulder as she walked away, sparking up feelings of jealousy within Waverly. 

‘So…’ Waverly started, avoiding eye contact with Nicole. ‘Who’s Shae?’ 

‘Oh, she’s, uh’ Nicole started, clearly feeling uncomfortable about the question. ‘Shes my ex girlfriend.’ 

Nicole’s response made Waverly tense up. Obviously she knew Nicole had had girlfriends in the past, and until now she couldn’t care less about the concept of Nicole dating other girls, but recently she couldn’t help but feel different towards the redhead. 

‘Oh, cool. Cool cool cool cool’ Waverly mumbled, trying to seem unbothered by the whole situation; and then, as if she was summoned up by Waverly’s discomfort, Shae returned to the table with their drinks, this time pulling up a chair.

For the rest of their meal, Shae was going back and forth between the kitchen and their table, pulling up a chair each time she served them something- Waverly becoming more awkward by the minute. Shaes presence made her shut herself off from both of the girls sat at the table, suddenly feeling as if she was a second choice to Nicole, who couldn’t take her eyes off of her ex girlfriend for more than five seconds.

After what felt like years of watching the two girls infront of her flirt so heavily that they made the notebook look bleak, Nicole finally started saying goodbye to Shae and picking up her things ready to leave. The sky was getting ready to set as they left the restauraunt, turning the horizon into different shades of glowing oranges and pinks as they set off in the car. Nicole noticed Waverlys sudden reserved attitude towards her when she continued to not say a word to her, even after they had been driving for almost ten minutes.

‘Waverly what is up with you today?’ Nicole asked, a hint of concern in her voice.

‘Nothing is up with me’ Waverly snapped defensively, leaving Nicole too taken aback to formulate a response.   
After a few minutes of painful silence, Waverly started up again, her tone just as angry as it was before.

‘You know, you hardly even batted an eye at me, that whole time at the restaurant, you were just flirting with Shae at every opportunity you got.’ 

‘Excuse me?’ Nicole spat, anger boiling up at Waverlys accusations.   
‘Shae was my girlfriend, Waverly, I’m allowed to talk to her. I mean- god forbid I pay attention to anyone but Waverly Earp right?’

‘What is that supposed to mean?’ Waverly asked, her anger now replaced with a sudden sadness. 

‘You know what Waverly? I don’t even know why you’re bothered that I was flirting with Shae, we’re just _friends_ ’ 

That word hit Waverly with such force that the air in her chest had dissapeared. _Friends._

‘Oh, is that what we are?’ Waverly remarked snidely, causing a look of confusion to spread across Nicoles face. 

Waverly leaned her arm into the back seat and found her bag, and jacket and pulled them over her seat so they were now sat at her feet.

‘Pull over.’

‘Waverly’ Nicole responded, all the anger in her voice gone. 

‘I said pull over.’ Waverly demanded, leaving Nicole as the only one dropping their anger.   
She grabbed her jacket and quickly put it on as Nicole pulled the truck up onto the side of the road. 

‘Don’t follow me.’ Waverly mumbled as she opened up the passenger door to leave.

‘Waverly’ Nicole pleaded as she watched the girl leave, unable to do anything. 

By this point, it was practically pitch black outside and rain had just started to fall, but Waverly being as stubborn as she is, continued walking along the road with absolutely no idea where she was going. Once again, Waverly was running away from her problems, but she couldn’t help but get the thought out of her head that Nicole was actually the opposite of a problem, she was more like a solution. Regardless of this, Waverly pulled her earphones out of her pocket, thinking that if she was going to do this then she was at least doing it with music. Waverly didn’t know how long she had been walking before the tears started falling down her cheeks, but she knew it didnt take long, the song that had just come on shuffle not helping.

_’You were alone, left out in the cold, clinging to the ruin of your broken home  
Too lost and hurting to carry your load  
We all need someone to hold’ _

 

Nicole remained in her truck that was still pulled up on the side of the road, unable to fathom what had just happened. Not knowing what else to do, she plugged her phone into the aux cord and started playing her music. The sound of the first song that came on caused her eyes to fill with tears and she hit her dashboard in fustration at what she had just let happen. 

_‘You’ve been fighting the memory all on your own  
Nothing washes, nothing grows  
I know how it feels being by yourself in the rain  
We all need someone to stay’ _

Ignoring that she was now fully crying, she started up the car again and continued driving, turning up the radio and letting herself cry, using the song as an excuse.

Nicole drove as Waverly walked, both with tears streaming down their face, and both unsure of where they were going to go without each other. They were both feeling the same pain, and with the same song playing from either of their phones, it was as if they were still together, despite not having a clue where the other was. 

_‘Hear you falling and lonely, cry out  
Will you fix me up? Will you show me hope?  
The end of the day, I’m helpless  
Can you keep me close? Can you love me most?’ _

Nicole didn’t know if she would ever get to see Waverly again, she didn’t even know if Waverly would even want to see her again. Waverly was hoping that somehow, she would get what she truly wanted; that someday she would stop running from Nicole, and instead start running to her.


	4. Window

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys,  
> Sorry that updates have bee super inconsistent, i've been struggling to find time to write and update, but hopefully that'll change soon.  
> Thank you to those still reading, hope you enjoy the rest of the fic <3

After what had been at least an hour of Waverly aimlessly wandering the dark streets in the rain, she gave up. Her bag fell off of her shoulder as she dropped in defeat, slouching into the pole of the roadsign behind her. With her phone practically dead and her clothes soaked through, Waverly had almost lost all hope, but she wasn’t going to let herself sit in the cold and rain, surrounded by mud, all night. After a few minutes of feeling sorry for herself, she hauled herself up and used the last of her phones life to get a rough idea of where to go using her maps app, and then she started walking again.   
As annoyed as she was at herself for throwing away the last good thing in her life, she knew giving into the hate she was feeling for herself wouldn’t get her anywhere. So she walked, and she walked, realising how this is how she had been spending most of her time the past few days; walking from one mistake to another, hoping that eventually she’ll take the right turn and find a solution, and in this case, find Nicole. Her legs were aching and she was so cold that she was no longer sure if she was all in one piece, but she was getting somewhere, and the longer she walked, the closer she got to where she needed to be.

 

Nicole pulled her truck into the carpark of the same motel as the nights before, taking a few minutes to compose herself before she walked through the doors. She hated how stupid she was. How she had destroyed what she had with Waverly over _Shae._  
She walked through the halls of the motel, trying hard to overcome the shakes in her hand so she could unlock the door to her room. As she walked in and looked at the double bed in the centre of the room, her heart dropped through her stomach. Throwing her bags on the floor on her way in, She went to sit on the end of the bed, putting a hand out on the side where Waverly should be. She pictured the girl in bed, her small frame drowned in the big, cosy duvet that the two of them shared, wavy strands of her long brown hair covering her delicate face.  
Nicole kicked her shoes off as she stretched across onto the bed, not even having the energy to get ready. But without Waverly there, things felt off. The matress didn’t feel like it should. There was no sound of Waverlys soft breaths as she slept. No feeling of Waverlys warm hands brushing Nicoles hair out of her face. Before she could realise what she was doing, she picked up her phone, and she called Waverly. She called Waverly again and again, leaving voicemail after voicemail. As she started to fall asleep, phone in hand and Waverlys contact still open, Nicole finally realised what Waverly meant when she said they weren’t friends.

 

Waverly woke up in a motel room, not remebring the parts of the night that lead up to her booking a room somewhere. As she sat up, pain shot through her body, a mixture of aches and pains from all the walking she did, and a sting in her eyes from how much she had cried. She reached for her phone that was plugged in next to her bed, and what she saw flushed a wave of sadness over her. On her lockscreen were missed call notifications, missed calls from Nicole.  
Waverly’s heart stopped beating at the sight of Nicole’s name, and she suddenly remembered just how much of a trainwreck the previous night had been; but she pulled herself together before she fell apart again, knowing it was her only option.

As she stood in the shower, letting the water fall down herself, she thought through her options. She knew where Nicole would probably be, and if she found out the directions, she could easily march over to the same motel they had been spending their nights in together, and try fix it all. She also knew that Nicole probably hated her guts and would never want to see her again, so it was a plan that was easier said than done. Waverly tried sending Nicole a text when she got out of the shower, but she couldn’t get the right words out, and even when she managed to string together a few sentences, she wasn’t brave enough to hit send. 

What Waverly didn’t know, is that Nicole was in the same boat. The redhead had been sat over her phone for almost half an hour, painstakingly writing and rewriting messages to Waverly. Once she had given up trying to write her words out, she did the same thing she had did the night before, and she called Waverly. 

When Nicoles contact photo flashed up on Waverlys phone, every inch of her body froze up, the pain in her chest spreading across her body, making her unable to pick up the phone, no matter how hard she tried. 

Nicole almost gave up hope after hearing the phone go to voicemail once again, but in one last burst of hope, she left a final voicemail, one that made Waverly regret all of her decisions from the night before even more than she already did. 

‘Hey, uhm, it’s me again’ Nicole started, the pain in her voice glaringly obvious. ‘Look Waverly I, I love you, you are so important to me and I was stupid and I made a huge mistake, please just call me back okay. Bye’ 

After hearing the voicemail, Waverly decided that enough was enough. She didn’t care if it was easier said than done, she was gonna find Nicole, and she was gonna fix things between them. 

After Nicole had washed herself up, she grabbed her keys, and got back in her truck, and started driving, started looking for Waverly.   
As she drove, music on, windows down, she couldn’t help but think of Waverly the day before, singing along with her hair dancing in the wind as she hung her head out of the window. She hadn’t seen Waverly happier than she was in that moment. She also hadn’t seen her sadder that she was a few hours later, and the thought of being the cause for both of those things didn’t sit right with Nicole; but she had to get over it, because she was going to fix it, and she was going to make sure the only thing she makes Waverly feel from now on is happy.  
Nicole drove and drove, in and out of every road she saw, looking for Waverly everywhere she turned. As she turned down a quiet street, she froze at what she saw. Waverly was walking down the path, flowers in her hand.   
When Waverly heard Nicoles horn beep and saw her pull up on the side of the road, she stopped in her tracks. It took her a moment, but she started slowly walking up to Nicoles car, coming to a stop at her passenger seat window. 

‘Waverly’ Nicole said with a sigh of relief as she rolled the window down. 

‘Hi’ Waverly said, unable to look Nicole in the eye. ‘Can I uh. Can I come in?’

A smile spread across Nicoles face as the pain and tension lifted from her shoulders.

‘Please.’ 

‘So’ Nicole said as Waverly sat down. ‘Flowers?’

Waverly let out an embarrased laugh 

‘Yeah it’s uh, it’s kind of dumb. I, I picked them for you. To say sorry.’

‘That’s not dumb, Waverly. And anyway, you’ve got nothing to apologise for.’ 

Waverly didn’t respond, just turned the speakers up, allowing the two of them to sit in silence.

_‘Oh, I'm not leaving you alone_  
You could write this love in stone  
I'm not leaving you alone’ 

They both knew things weren’t going to go back to how they were before, at least not right away. But they were together again, and that was all that mattered to the both of them. They could figure the rest of it out along the way.


	5. Dumb Stuff (ILYSB)

The two girls continued to sit in silence as they drove further and further away from whichever town they had spent the last few days in- both of them attempting to fixate their eyes on the road ahead, but occasionally breaking and letting their eyes wander to the girl next to them whilst they weren’t looking. They had both made the decision to leave this town, deciding that they’d explored it enough and were ready to check out somewhere else, somewhere further afield. That was all either of them had said to each other. Neither of them knew how long it had been, but the awkwardness of the silence between them was enough to suffocate the both of them so much that they couldn’t get any words out. Waverlys thoughts were driving her wild, although her and Nicole were back together now, she knew things were nowhere near what they were like before the day before, and knowing that was all her fault was eating away at her. She knew if she didn’t try to put things right, then her relationship with Nicole would suffer even more than it already had because of it.

After at least a few hours in silence, Waverly finally spoke up.

‘Hey Nicole?’ 

‘Mhm’ Nicole mumbled, not taking her eyes off of the road. 

‘I’m sorry.’ Waverly started, her voice breaking as she started tearing up.  
‘It was really dumb of me to get angry at you, and the way I acted was stupid and childish and I shouldn’t of made you feel like you had done something wrong- because you didn’t, you never do. I guess I just felt threatned by the reality that you weren’t as alone as me- that you had someone other than me. I’m sorry.’ 

The car fell silent as Nicole processed all that Waverly had just said. 

‘You’re having a dinner party.’ Nicole started after afew moments of being silence. ‘You can invite three people- dead, alive, historical, fictional- anything. Who do you invite?’ 

‘Nicole, what are you going on about?’ Waverly questioned. 

‘It was the first question you ever asked me, the one that eventually lead to our friendship. Waverly, I’m not gonna pretend that last night didn’t hurt me, or that we're going to be able to instantly go back to how it used to be. But i’m also not gonna pretend that I don't want to still be your friend. So lets start this again, just like we did all those years ago. Who are you inviting?’ 

Waverly let out a laugh of relief at Nicoles response.

‘Michelle Obama, without a doubt, Frida Khalo, and Rosa Diaz’ 

Nicole raised her eyebrows at Waverlys response and quickly glanced across at her, smiling. 

‘Interesting combination of people- I like it.’ 

For the next few hours, the two girls spoke about anything they could think of that would rebreak the ice between them- from what they would do if demons were real, to who would die first in a zombie apocalypse, and anything else that came to mind. They were talking for hours as if they were new friends, and considering they were starting fresh after last night- it was almost as if they _were_ new friends.

The two of them were driving through the dark, the stars and the moon being the only thing lighting up the road ahead of them, and the only noise other than their voices and their laughs being the sound coming from the radio. 

_‘Oh my god, I think I’m in love,_  
The way we stay up late and talk about dumb stuff.  
And there is no one else, I would rather be with  
Please, promise you want me,  
Oh my god, is my love too much?’ 

 

Waverly opened her eyes to see that Nicole had pulled the car up somehwere to sleep. She looked across to see the redheads head tucked up against the side of the car, her arms and legs curled up to the rest of her body. Waverly opened up the passenger side door as quietly as possible, trying not to wake Nicole, and was hit with the smell of salt, soon realising they were near a beach when she heard the distant sound of waves. She took a seat on a nearby sandy hill, grateful to feel fresh air and wind on her after god knows how long in that car. She closed her eyes and took in a deep breath, filling her lungs with the cold, salty air around her as she let the breeze blow through her hair.

Next thing Waverly knew, she was being woken up at what seemed like the crack of dawn by the worried calls of Nicole. She had clearly fallen asleep again before she could make it back to the car, as she found herself covered in sand.

‘Waverly, there you are.’ Nicole said, suddenly relaxing. ‘When I woke up and saw you weren’t in the car I was worried.’

‘Yeah, sorry.’ Waverly responded groggily, brushing herself down. ‘I didn’t realise I fell asleep out here.’ 

Waverly stood up and stretched out, brushing the remaining bits of sand off of her.

‘So, back on the road I guess?’ 

‘Yeah, I was thinking we could just drive to the beach?’ Nicole suggested. 

‘The beach sounds good.’ Wavery responded, getting back in the car alongside Nicole. 

As they drove, they watched the sky change in colour, the sunrise sending a multitude of orange and pink hues across the horizon. It didn't take long for Nicoles red truck to pull up on the beach, tires sinking into the sand beneath them. They were the only people there, most likely due to the fact the sun had only just risen, and the emptiness of the beach around them gave to two girls a sense of ease. 

Nicole and Waverly got out of the car and sat on the bonnet, just like they used to always do, but this time the space between them was significantly larger. They sat in silence for a few moments, taking in the air around them, letting the sound of the waves lapping up on the shore provide the only noise they needed. Nicole looked over to Waverly whilst she wasn’t looking. She loved the way the girl became so wrapped up in nature, her eyes were locked ahead of her, staring at the point where the sea met the sky, rocking slightly as the waves rolled in. When Waverlys eyes started to wander towards Nicole, she snapped out of the gaze she was holding, afraid she would be caught. They continued to not talk, the silence between them coming naturally, but as they started to relax into their positions on the car, they slowly started moving closer. There was still room between them, but if she put her hand out, Waverly would be able to touch Nicole. Her hand awkwardly lingered by her side as she debated reaching out for Nicoles, but she soon moved it back on to her lap- afraid that the sudden burst of intimacy would ruin the relationship they were working so hard to fix. 

As the day began, and the beach started waking up around them, the two girls continued sitting in silence, basking in the sunlight and their newly built friendship. As they sat, surrounded by nothing but the sound of the sea, and the faint sound of the music that had been left playing in the car, the girls felt a newfound sense of happiness. This feeling wasn’t like what they had been feeling the past few days, no, that was a passing joy, gone not long after it started. This felt like it could be permanent, like they could feel like this their whole lives- if they opened themselves up to the feeling, if they opened themselves up to eachother. 

_‘Oh, my heart hurts so good  
I love you, babe, so bad, so bad’ _


	6. What a feeling

The sun had finished rising, the day had begun, and Nicole and Waverly were back in Nicole’s truck. They decided to stay wherever they were right now, but they needed to find somewhere to stay, and to shower. The two of them were sharing small talk, but the conversation wasn’t forced. Despite the argument and the fresh start, they both knew nothing had changed between them, and that their relationship was the same as it always had been, the way it always will be. After less than an hour of searching, Waverly spotted a small hotel on the street front, surrounded by small shops and restaurants.

‘Nice spot, Waves’ Nicole said as she pulled up on a nearby street. 

Waverly didn’t respond, but blushed at the sound of her nickname being used again, rather than just her name. 

This hotel was much nicer than the last motel they had been crashing at, the entrance was full of art, the decor was simple but beautiful, and the smell of freshly baked bread, pastries and cakes was wafting their way from the kitchen area. 

‘We hit the jackpot with this one, dontcha think?’ Waverly exclaimed to Nicole as they walked through the hallways and up to the room they had just booked. 

‘ _You_ hit the jackpot, Earp, I didn’t find this place.’ Nicole responded. 

‘Yeah well-‘ Waverly started, trying to come up with an argument back, but deciding to just take the compliment.

The girls swiped their key card and entered a room much nicer than they had ever stayed in before. It was spacious, with the double bed against the centre of one of the walls, facing out to the wall length windows that showed off the view of the beach. 

‘Oh, we are definitely staying here forever.’ Nicole announced, shocked at the sight of the room. 

‘That is more than fine by me.’ Waverly said, jumping onto the bed, feeling the crisp duvet crash around her.

‘Hey, Nicole I’m gonna hop in the shower.’ Waverly stated to the girl after a few moments of lying on the bed. 

Waverly dissapered into the hotel rooms en suite before Nicole could respond, leaving her alone in the room. She continued looking around, subconciously tracing her hand along the spot on the bed where Waverly had been lying as she moved around. Whilst she was waiting for Waverly, she started sorting their things out, she tucked some of the bags into the bottom of the wardrobe and actually hung up some of their clothes, something they didn’t do in the place they last stayed at. As she turned on the tv for some background noise, she heard the bathroom door open and felt a wave of warm air rush out into the room. 

‘Making yourself at home I see?’ Waverly commented as she saw what Nicole had started doing.

‘Yeah’ Nicole started, looking up and smiling at the girl infront of her. ‘I thought we might as well take at least some of the stuff out of our bags.’ 

As Nicole started to get up to make her own way to the bathroom, she turned to look back at Waverly again. She watched the girl standing in just her towel, looking through their clothes for something to wear. Nicoles eyes couldn’t help but linger on Waverly. She was suddenly mesmerised by her, by her glowingly tanned skin, by the dips in her collarbones, by the freckles that were scatterd along her neck and chest. No matter how much she tried, Nicole couldn’t break her eyes away, and she had no clue why. Before she stared any longer than she already had been, Nicole forced herself to snap herself out of it and go into the bathroom. 

 

The two girls didn’t get up to much the rest of the day; after they freshened themselves up, they ended up spending most of the day dossing about the hotel, moving back and forth from their room to the communal areas in the main lobby. Before they knew it, the day began to draw to a close, and they were still in their room. 

‘We’re going out tonight.’ Nicole declared. 

‘Are we now?’ Waverly responded, curiously. 

‘Yep.’ Nicole stated, breaking her eyes away from the view from their window so she could turn to face Waverly. ‘We’ve been gone a while now, and we haven’t even gone out once. We finally have the chance to _live_ ,Waves, lets do it.’ 

‘Well, Haught, seeing as you’re so passionate about it, lets go out.’ Waverly said, Nicole excitedly getting up and flashing her a smile as a response. 

 

‘Nicole, I really don’t think you needed to get that much.’ Waverly laughed as she saw Nicole come out of one of the shops near to the hotel with four bottles of alcohol, all of different varieties. 

‘Oh, Earp, don’t be silly, it’s the perfect amount!’ Nicole replied, the grin from earlier still on her face. ‘Lets go.’ 

Nicole and Waverly found themselves back on the same beach they were on this morning, only this time they were there as the sun had just finsihed setting. Nicole opened one of the bottles of wine she had just got from the shop, making sure to put any rubbish into her rucksack, and not out on the beach. She took a swig from the bottle as she sat down on the sand next to Waverly, passing the drink across when she was done. 

‘This whole time, we’ve been stuck in Purgatory. We’ve been in the same, dead town for eighteen years, when all this beauty, all this wonder has been out here waiting for us.’ Nicole muttered as she became enraptured by the movement of the waves as they came in and out. 

‘Mhm.’ Waverly mumbled in response, her mouth too full to be able to talk.  
The both of them continued to pass the bottles between them, talking and joking more and more as each bottle became emptier. The only sound other than the waves was the laughs coming from the both of them, and in that moment, as she watched Nicole throw her head back in laughter, Waverly was convinced that Nicoles smile could save the world. 

 

‘Come on’ Waverly slurred as she dragged Nicole up with her after a while of them sat talking and drinking. 

‘Where are you taking me, Earp?’ Nicole giggled, stumbling as she stood on her feet. 

‘We’re going for a swim, I’ll race you’ Waverly said. 

Nicole shot her a competetive look and quickly started sprinting towards the sea, leading Waverly to do the same thing. The two girls were running across the beach, limbs flailing everywhere, kicking up sand behind them. They both splashed into the sea at similar times, almost falling over after coming to such a sudden stop. Both of them were full of giggles, partially due to how much they had drunk, but also because of how happy they were. Nicole steadied herself in the water and then reached for Waverlys hand,

’Lets jump over the Waves, Waves’ she suggested, her smile shining brighter than the moon above them. 

Waverly took Nicoles outstretched hand and they walked further into the water, the sea now moving further up their legs. They leaped forward together, hand in hand as they tried to leap over the incoming waves. They fell over eyery time, but every time they got back up, reaching out for each other as they waded further into the sea. When they finally gave up, they had become waist deep in the water, and their clothes were soaked through. Nicole released her loose grip on Waverly and took a step back. She leant down to put her arms underwater, and she swung them forward at full force, splashing Waverly with the water as she let out a laugh. 

‘Oh, Haught it is _on_ ’ Waverly said in response to the redhead, and she cupped her hands as she placed them underwater, hitting Nicole with a splash that was just as bad. 

The two of them continued like that, running through the water, chasing each other as they splashed each other more and more as time went by. When Waverly came at Nicole with all her might, not only did she fling water over the girl, but she also flung herself over her. The two of them almost landed in a heap on the floor, Nicole managing to stop them from falling on their asses by stretching her foot out to steady them. But once they had got steadily back on their feet, neither of them moved. Waverly stood close to Nicole, and Nicole stood, still holding Waverlys lower arms in her hands, keeping them close to her. The two of them started giggling again, getting closer without even realising. As they were stood there, the waves moving around them and the moon shining down, Nicole couldn’t help but lean in closer and closer, a song from earlier suddenly coming into her mind as she looked deeper into Waverlys eyes.

_‘What a feeling to be right here beside you now,_  
Holding you in my arms.  
When the air ran out and we both started running wild,  
The sky fell down.  
But you’ve got stars, they’re in your eyes,  
And I’ve got something missing tonight.  
What a feeling to be a king beside you, somehow  
I wish I could be there now’ 

Waverly stood on her tiptoes, reaching towards Nicole as the redhead closed the space between them. Their faces began to move closer together and Waverlys eyes were locked to Nicoles lips. Nicole lifted one of her hands off of Waverlys arm to bring it to her face, and she drew Waverly in so close that there wasn’t even enough room for air.  
And then a wave hit them, an almighty wave, that brought them both down onto the sandy floor of the sea, causing the two girls to burst out in laughter yet again. They both struggled to get up this time, the alcohol suddenly going to their heads even more, and the waves coming back in every time they were almost up, knocking them back down. They finally managed to drag themselves back onto shore, being hit with the shock of the cold air against their wet clothes and skin. 

They began stumbling back to their hotel, trying to dry off as much as possible during the journey. When they finally reached their room, they peeled their damp clothes off, throwing them into the bathroom after changing into something warmer, and they collapsed into their bed. Nicole pulled the duvet over the both of them, making sure Waverly had enough to snuggle up into. As she fell asleep, Nicole thought of that moment in the sea. She though of how Waverlys arms felt against her as she held her upright.  
In that same moment, Waverly was laying in bed, pretending to be asleep. Her mind was racing and her body was aching to be held by Nicole again, and she knew there in that moment, that she never wanted to be held by anyone but Nicole Haught ever again.


	7. Drive

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys, sorry again for the inconsistent uploading. I've been super busy and had a bit of a block with this chapter, so I hope it's okay and that you enjoy it <3

Waverly woke to see Nicole stood in the middle of their room, her hair thrown up in a messsy bun and a pile of their clothes at her feet.

‘What are you doing, Haught?’ She asked as she sat up and stretched her arms out. 

‘Im glad you asked, Earp.’ Nicole started. ‘When we were on our way here, I noticed a charity shop that were giving cash in return for clothes- it’s not much, but I thought any money is good, you know, considering we’re unemployed.’

Waverly moved closer to the end of the bed to look at all the things Nicole was sorting through.

Plus, we both just grabbed so much when we left, and we dont need half of it, and considering we’re traveling all over the place- I though it’d be best to travel light’ She added, smiling at Waverly.

‘Sounds like a good idea, I’ll help.’ 

Before she attended to the mess that Nicole had created, Waverly went to brush her teeth and followed Nicole in throwing her hair up out of the way. 

‘You are so messy, Haught’ Waverly stated as she walked out of the bathroom- shocked to see that in the five minutes she was gone Nicole had managed to turn the room into even more of a tip. 

‘Here, come on lets sort this out before we decide what we do and dont want’. 

Nicole took a step back as Waverly gathered all of the clothes they had packed and put them in one pile, separating them into individual piles of types of clothes. 

‘Okay, maybe that makes it a lot easier.’ Nicole said, now looking at organised piles of shirts, jumpers, jackets, trousers and shoes, getting a smile in response from Waverly. 

They spent the next couple hours making their way through the piles and arguing over what should and shouldn’t stay, but eventually turning six piles of their clothes into one, with one large pile of clothes to be given away. They then crammed all of the stuff they weren’t keeping into a couple of the no longer needed bags and made their way towards the shop that Nicole mentioned. 

‘God, our bags are going to be so much lighter now.’ Waverly said as they walked along the pavement that the hotel was sat on. 

‘Yeah, thank god for that, if we went on much longer with all of that stuff I think my back would’ve given up on me entirely’ Nicole joked, making Waverly laugh. 

‘So’ Nicole started after a few minutes of comfortable silence. ‘Wanna hit the road again? Explore a bit?’ 

‘The fact that you even have to ask shocks me, Haught’ Wavery responded with a smile.

The two of them went back up to their hotel room to grab their bags and to try fit as many of the hotel freebies in them as they possibly could. They checked out, not knowing when, or if, they were going to return, and they hit the road again. 

As the car started up, both Waverly and Nicole reached to turned up the volume of the radio. Nicole smiled nervously and turned it up whilst Waverlys hand remained there, lingering. Nicole glanced down at Waverly’s hand after she dropped it down, and put her hand next to it, trying to be subtle. Their journey started and Nicole was focused on driving as Waverly leant against the window and lost her mind in the music. As she watched the world move around them, Waverly nudged her hand across so her fingers were against Nicoles, and Nicole intertwined her fingers with Waverly's, both of them keeping their eyes ahead.

_’Sat back with the window down, eighty an hour and the radio loud_  
The same songs with the same old rhymes, tell me to shake it off and swing from the lights.  
But I cant help but drive away from all the mess you made, You sent this hurricane, now it wont go away  
And I promised I’d be there, but you dont make it easy, darling please believe me.’ 

‘Holy shit, Waves look at that!’ Nicole excalimed after a while of driving, snapping Waverly out of her doze and making her unattatch her hand from Nicoles, causing Nicole to frown and pull her hand back towards her body.

‘Is that a harbour?’ Waverly questions as she opened her eyes properly to see at least twenty boats lined up across the bright blue sea, surrounded by large groups of bubbly people. 

‘I think so, wanna check it out?’ Nicole asked, her eyes still drawn to the scene ahead of them.

‘Obviously.’ Waverly replied, being filled with a sudden burst of energy.

Nicole slowly turned into the harbour and parked the truck up as Waverly reached behind the seats to grab their rucksacks. The smell of saltwater and fish was strong, and the atmosphere was full of pure joy. The girls walked along the worm down cobbled paths towards two fishermen that were sat on one of the boats having a beer. 

‘Excuse me’ Waverly called across. The men on the boat turned around with a smile and stood up to make their way towards Nicole and Waverly. 

‘Are you girls alright?’

‘We’re wonderful, thanks. I’m Waverly, this is my friend, Nicole’ Waverly responded happily, stretching her arm out to shake thier hands, Nicole doing the same. 

‘We were driving past and were curious about what was down here- we’ve never seen a harbour this busy, is there something going on?’ Nicole said to them after they had finished introducing themselves. 

‘Well, most people here are from the local community, fishermen, their wives and kids, the lot, but I think a boat has come in with tourists that have been staying on the island’ One of the men, that the two of them had learnt was called Schneider, answered. 

‘Wait, an island?’ Nicole queried. 

‘Yeah, little Island tucked behind the coastlines, only about an hour or so on a boat I’d say.’ Schneider responded. 

‘Oh my god, thats awesome’ Waverly said to Nicole before facing the men again ‘Is the boat going out again soon?’

‘Afraid not my dear, excursions aren’t very frequent this time of year, people prefer to go when it’s warmer- I recon that was the last one before summer starts’ Jonah, the other fisherman, explained.

‘Oh, okay. thanks anyway’ Waverly uttered dissapontedly. 

‘You could always jump on our boat with us when we go out tommorrow. We’ll swing round and take you there if you really wanna see it’ Jonah suggested as he saw Nicole and Waverlys faces drop. 

‘Really?’ Nicole and Waverly said, at the same time.

‘Of course. It’s a beautiful place, everyone deserves to go there.’ Schneider replied. ‘Just let us know when you’re ready to go, and we’ll take you there.’

‘Is now okay?’ Waverly said eagerly. Jonah and Schneider smiled at the two girls and moved off of the end of the boat to allow room for Nicole and Waverly to get on.

‘Welcome aboard.’ 

 

After repeatedly thanking Jonah and Schneider for their kind gesture, Nicole and Waverly finally settled on the boat. They took a seat on a cushioned area around the front of the boat and sat close together, sharing Nicoles earphones and listening to music as the sun shone down on them. As the journey continued and the boat swayed with the waves, Waverly moved her body closer to Nicoles and rested her head on her shoulder. Nicole raised her hand to Waverly's head and began playing with her hair, gently twisting it around her fingers as she looked out into the horizon. Touching Waverly was almost like a natural instinct to Nicole. Whether it was holding her hand, or playing with her hair, or holding Waverly as she leant on her, it was like her body was constantly drawn to Waverly's. She glanced down at the girl, who was looking out at the waves, and admired how she looked when she was like this, when she was so wrapped up in the beauty of the world around them that it made her even more beautiful than she already was. 

_‘Loving you, loving you is too hard, all I do, all I do’s not enough._  
Loving you, loving you, I cannot be loving you, loving you  
Loving you, loving you leaves me hurt, all I do, all I do is get burnt  
Loving you, loving you, I cannot be loving you, loving you’. 


	8. Andante, Andante

‘Hey, Nicole’ Waverly whispered, nudging Nicole lightly to wake her up. ‘We’re almost here.’

Nicole opened her eyes to see the boat surrounded by nothing but the blue sea and the small island ahead of them. 

‘Holy shit.’ She said as she sat up and stretched out. 

‘I know right. I cant believe this is happening. I can’t believe we’re here.’ Waverly responded, breaking her eyes away from the view to look at Nicole. 

‘Quite the upgrade from purgatory, don’t you think?’ Nicole joked. The redhead hauled herself up from the floor to stand beside Waverly on the edge of the boat. Her hand rested near Waverlys waist, and Nicole had to try her hardest not to wrap her arms around Waverly and pull her closer.

‘I don’t know Haught, nothing can compare to purgatory and its dirty old streets’ Waverly joked. 

By the time the two of them had gotten themselves up and gathered their things, the boat was pulling into the docks, and Nicole and Waverly were back to repeatedly thanking Schneider and Jonah. They offered the two men some money, which they then had to hide in the boat after both Jonah and Schneider refused to take it, and then got their phone numbers incase they ever needed their help again- and then they were off.

Although the island was free from tourists, it was not empty. It didn’t take long for Nicole and Waverly to hear the distant noise coming from a group of buildings filled with locals, but they decided that they wanted to adventure around the quiet parts of the island before they introduced themselves to everyone. 

They wandered up to the top of the docks and continued forward and began walking up a hill that lead to what looked like an area of pure greenery. 

 

‘Oh come on Haught’ Waverly called down to the redhead, who was lagging further behind. ‘What happened to being one of purgatory highs finest athletes?’

‘Hey, shut it’ Nicole responded, trying to act seriously through her laughs.

‘You’re not threatning, Nicole- it’s not like you can get me anyway seeing as you’re all the way down there.’ Waverly joked mockingly as she turned around and carried on up the hill.

Nicole looked up and saw that Waverly’s attention had diverted, so she ran. She ran as fast as she could up the hill, the noise causing Waverly to turn around to see Haught getting closer and closer, but before she could do anything Nicole had picked her up, both of her arms wrapped tightly around Waverlys body. The force of Nicole picking Waverly up and spinning her around sent them crashing to the floor, landing in a heap of giggles. 

Waverlys could feel Nicoles chest as she breathed in and out, their bodies remaining pressed up against each other, neither of them wanting to move from the position they were in. Nicoles arms were still draped around Waverlys waist, and the feeling of Nicoles hands brushing against the bare skin that had become exposed after the fall was driving Waverly insane. 

Nicole so desperatley wanted to tighten her grip on Waverly. To wrap her arms around her waist and pull her in even closer than she already was, to finish what they started that night at the beach. But she knew she couldn’t do any of that. They’d already risked destroying their friendship when they involved their feelings, and Nicole couldn’t make that happen again. Even if it meant she could never hold Waverly the way she wanted to. Nicole suddenly snapped back to reality, snapped back to Waverlys body still lying on hers. She sat herself up, forcing Waverly to move off of her. 

‘Lets go, we’re almost at the top now’ Nicole said to Waverly as she stood up and brushed herself off, offering a hand to help Waverly get up. Waverly took it and tried her best to ignore the change in Nicoles tone. 

The two of them continued to walk towards the top of the island, this time at the same pace. Waverly filled the peaceful silence with soft hums, and Nicole was convinced that Waverlys voice was warmer than the sun that was shining above them. When they finally reached the top, they found an old house looking out onto the ocean ahead. The building was surrounded by orange trees and other greenery, and leaning against the house was a blue bike that was in almost pristine condition. 

‘Waverly’ Nicole started, looking at the bike.

Waverly followed Nicoles line of sight to the bike, and interrupted her before she could even finish her sentence.

‘No.’

‘Oh come on Waves, why not, it's just a bike.’

‘Yes, a bike. A being singular. As in one bike, and two of us. I know you aren’t great at maths, Haught, but even you should be able to work that one out.’ Waverly replied. 

‘Two people ride on one bike all the time!’ Nicole protested. ‘Please, Waves- it would get us around a lot faster. And besides, it’ll be fun.’ 

Waverly looked back towards Nicole to see her trying to give her her best puppy eyes, and despite how bad they were, Waverly couldn’t resist Nicole when she was like this. 

‘Fine.’ She said with a roll of her eyes as Nicole raced towards the bike with excitment and wheeled it towards Waverly.

‘Your ride awaits you, M’lady.’

 

_‘Take it easy with me, please, touch me gently like a summer evening breeze.  
Take your time, make it slow.   
Andante, Andante, Just let the feeling grow.  
Make your fingers soft and light, let your body be the velvet of the night.  
Touch my soul, you know how.   
Andante, Andante, go slowly with me now.’ _

 

As the bike sped down the hills of the island, weaving in and out of corners, Waverlys grip on Nicole became tighter. Large smiles were spread across both of the girls faces as the wind blew back their hair and the sun beat down on their skin. Nicole had no specific direction in mind, she was just going along the path and turning where she felt she wanted to- she wanted to think less about where they were going and just properly explore the beauty around them. They ended up riding for hours, the joy they were having distracting them from time, and the fact that they hadn’t eaten in hours, entirely. Without even meaning to, the two of them stumbled across a small waterfall tucked away behind the greenery and old buildings that were on the island. 

‘Fancy a swim?’ Waverly asked as she got off of the bike that had now come to a stop.

‘Honestly? No. I do, however, fancy a snack’ Nicole joked, leaning the bike against a nearby tree and walking to join Waverly.

‘Valid. Also a much better suggestion.’ Waverly responded. 

Nicole walked up to a nearby tree and picked two oranges before joining Waverly who was sat under the shade of a large tree and grabbing food out of their bags. They sat like that for an hour or two, making their way through some of the food they had packed, talking about life and laughing at eachothers bad jokes, even when they knew they were awful. 

They spent the rest of the evening there, in that spot, moving back and forth between their space under the tree and the waterfall. Their night was spent in laughter, so much so that by the time the sun had set and the stars were beggining to come out, both Nicole and Waverlys stomachs ached. As they walked back from the waterfall for the last time that night, Waverly couldn’t help but stare at Nicole, who was walking just ahead of her. Her eyes couldn’t help but linger on the shape of her body, now more obvious than ever with her wet clothes clinging to her skin. Waverly knew she shouldn’t be thinking of Nicole this way, they were just friends after all, and there was no way she was going to risk trying to change that after what had happened last time- but despite knowing that they could never be anything more than friends, Waverly couldn’t stop thinking of Nicole, and what it’s like to be held by Nicole, and how she longed for her touch more than anything in the world.

As the stars filled the night sky above them, Waverly and Nicole layed together against the same tree, Waverlys head on Nicoles chest and Nicoles hands running through Waverlys hair. The view in front of them was beautiful, Nicole had never seen the stars this bright before, but she couldn’t help but find her eyes constantly flitting back to Waverly.   
As Waverly drifted to sleep, still resting on Nicole as she continued to delicately play with her hair, Nicole realised that no matter where they went, no matter what beautiful views they would discover, the best and most beautiful view for Nicole was Waverly, it always had been. 

_Andante, Andante, tread lightly on my ground.  
Andante, Andante, oh please don’t let me down.’ _


	9. Dress

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for reading this fic, I hope you enjoy the final chapter <3

Waverly was sat on the rocks surrounding the waterfall, letting her feet sit in the water, as she braced herself for the feeling of the cold water hitting her skin. She had woken up before Nicole and gently lifted herself off of the other girl, grabbed a fresh change of clothes and left her to continue sleeping.  
After freshning herself up in the painfull, yet energizingly cold water, Waverly threw on the yellow sundress with floral detailing that she had taken from her bag and let her wet hair hang loose so it could dry in the sun above.

When Nicole woke up, Waverly was sat next to her, one hand holding the book she was reading, and the other running through Nicoles hair. She layed still for a few more moments, wanting to bask in the feeling of Waverly like this, unsure of if it would come to an end once Waverly realised she had woken up. 

‘Morning sunshine’ Waverly said, looking away from the book to turn to Nicole, but continuing to use her free hand to play with her hair. 

‘You already up and ready?’ Nicole asked as she sat up and stretched out.

‘Yeah, didn’t wanna wake you though, you needed your rest’ Waverly responded, brushing Nicoles hair out of her face before pulling her hand away, much to Nicoles dissapointment. 

‘Okay, well I’m gonna do the same. Won’t be long’ Nicole replied, hauling herself up and grabbing things from their bags.

‘Hey Waverly?’ Nicole started as she began walking away from Waverly and towards the waterfall.

‘Mhm’ Waverly mumbled in response, her attention being diverted back to the book beside her.

‘Do you wanna go over to the main town later, see if theres anything we can grab to eat?’

‘Yeah, sounds great’ Waverly answered, glancing up from her book to smile at Nicole. 

 

The two of them decided to ditch the bike, Nicole suddenly feeling the impact of yesterday on her legs, and decided to go by foot instead. They walked hand in hand, their arms swinging slightly as they walked across the island, weaving in and out of trees. Occassionally they would stop to pick some fresh fruit that was growing on the trees around them, or flowers that were covering almost the entirety of the floor; after an hour or so of walking, Nicole took her hand out of Waverlys and grabbed one of the flowers, putting it amongst the curls of Waverlys hair and said nothing, just smiled at Waverly took ahold of her hand again. 

As they got closer to the main town within the island, the air around them filled with different smells and sounds, people cooking, talking, laughing- it created a warm, joyful atmosphere that made this situation even more surreal for Waverly and Nicole. 

‘Well, I guess that’s where everyone is’ Waverly said to Nicole as they turned a corner that revealed a gathering of buildings gathered in a horse shoe shape by the coast. 

‘Considering that that’s where all the noise and smells are coming from, I would say so, yes’ Nicole replied sarcastically, getting a light slap in the arm and a laugh from Waverly in response. 

When they arrived at the heart of the Island, they were welcomed by two women who greeted them and informed them on what was available and where they could find it. It didn’t take Nicole or Waverly long to find where all the delicious smells had been coming from, as along the streets of this small town were stalls of different street food being cooked, from fried meats to fresh fruits and crepes. The two of them both fully indulged in this opportunity, and soon found themselves sat on a small table together with at least seven different dishes infront of them. 

‘Hey, Waves try some of this.’ Nicole said to the girl sat next to her as she scooped up some of the food off of her plate onto her fork, holding it up towards Waverly. 

‘Mhm, hold on.’ Waverly mumbled through a mouthful of food as she did the same with her food for Nicole. They interlocked their arms to feed each other, laughing at the ridiculousness of it as they ate the food. They continued like that until all of the plates in front of them were empty and they felt they could eat no more; looking back on it, they must have looked like idiots- interlocking arms to feed each other food as if they were the brides at the cringiest wedding in the world, but they didn’t care. 

Their indulgence on food left both Waverly and Nicole too stuffed to move very far for a long time after, leading them to hanging out with the locals in one of the cafes closer to the seafront. They spent hours there, talking to the people there, listening to their stories, sharing theirs, and drinking various different concoctions made using the islands fresh fruits. When the afternoon started to draw to a close, Nicole and Waverly decided they should leave and begin looking for somewhere to crash for the night; and so they started their journey back across the isalnd, the fresher air giving Nicole an excuse to pull Waverly in closer as they walked, hand in hand yet again. 

_‘Our secret moments in a crowded room, they’ve got no idea about me and you  
There is an indentation in the shape of you, made your mark on me, a golden tattoo’ _

 

When both Waverly and Nicole had found a place to settle for the night, the sun was beginning to set and the orange hues that were spread across the sky were reflecting onto the faces of the girls. Waverly was watching as Nicole looked out at the view and realised that she didn’t care about ruining the friendship anymore. She didn’t care what her feelings would do to the relationship they had. All she cared about was Nicole.

_’All of this silence and patience, pining in anticipation_  
My hands are shaking from holding back from you.  
All of this silence and patience, pining and desperatley waiting,  
My hands are shaking from holding back from all this’ 

‘Fuck it.’ Waverly said, throwing her bag off her back and onto the floor.

‘Huh?’ Nicole asked as she turned around, but before Nicole could open her mouth to say anything more, her lips met with Waverly's as the smaller girl walked up to her and pulled her in. 

Waverlys hands were racing to Nicoles neck, feeling almost a sense of urgency after all of the time she had been wanting to do this, as Nicoles hands were moving down her thighs and lifting them to rest on Nicoles hips. Nicole broke the kiss and moved her lips across to Waverlys jaw, slowly progressing down her neck- leaving Waverly aching for more. 

They slowly moved down to the floor, Nicoles legs straddling Waverlys waist as they hastily removed their clothes, desperate to close the space between them.

‘Are you sure about this?’ Nicole asked Waverly softly.

‘I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life.’ Waverly replied, pulling Nicole closer and planting soft kisses down her neck before gently pushing her to the ground and taking control.

_‘Say my name and everything just stops, I don’t want you like a best friend._  
Only bought this dress so you could take it off, take it off.  
Carve your name into my bedpost, ’cause I don't want you like a best friend.  
Only bought this dress so you could take it off, take it off’ 


End file.
